Narrative and Performance

Narrative in songs is rarely complete, more often fragmentary, as in poetry. The same is true of music promos, which more often suggest story-lines or offer complex fragments of them in non-linear order. In doing this the music video leaves the viewer with the desire to see it again if only to catch the bits missed on the first viewing. As Steve Archer puts it: "Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist's performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the 'repeatability' factor. Sometimes, the artist will be a part of the story, acting as a narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip sync, close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it." (Steve Archer - 2004)
The video allows the audience access to the performer in a much greater range of ways than a stage performance could. Eye contact and facial gestures via the close-up, role playing through the narrative and mise-en-scene will present the artist in a number of ways which would not be possible in a live concert.
The mise-en-scene may be used as a guarantee of what Simon Firth terms 'authenticity' as in the stage performance/use of a rehearsal room by a band whose musical virtuosity is their main selling point. It can be important to a narrative-based video to establish setting and relationship to existing film or televisual genres. Equally it may be used as part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting associated with sexual allure, such as a sleazy nightclub or boudoir. Or finally, as John Stewart suggests, it may be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle for the audience, as in the current dominance of a futuristic look with emphasis on the latest gadgetry.
Other commentators have divided music videos in terms of style, though often there will be crossover between these; apart from Performance and Narrative, it is possible to identify at least six: Gothic, Animated, Dreamscapes, Portraiture, Futuristic and Home Movie.

Slideshows

Here are a few slideshows I found that also explain the history of music videos. They primarily cover the same ideas and concepts that I went through, but they are more detailed than mine.

The History Of Music Video

Music Video Intro And Intertextuality.Ppt


The Music Video & History

History of Music Videos

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music or a song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. However this all started a long time ago with a very different motive when a man named Lee De Forest made the first music video. However at the time the music was played alongside animated films, and the music was just an orchestra in the background. Between the 1930's to the 1950's Max Fleischer was a key figure in America, more specifically Hollywood, as he helped to establish the whole concept of the music videos at that time.

The next major breakthrough was in 1964, when the group Animals released their music video 'House of the Rising Sun'. Looking back on it you can tell the whole set design was rather cheap, as everything looked flimsy to be honest. However obviously for that time it must have been seen differently, and that was essentially the starting point for music videos in my opinion. Also, in the same year Beatles released their first feature film (A Hard Day's Night) and this went on to inspire many other artists as it was something original and new at the time. Two years later The Beatles stopped touring and filmed two sets of colour promotional clips. This was quite a big thing at the time, and the band members themselves said that it was just to concentrate on writing and recording.
The next big thing in the history of music videos was when Bob Dylan made a music video, but instead of miming to the recording, he illustrated the lyrics by throwing cue cards containing key words from the song on the ground (Don't Look Back). At this time song films were called 'film inserts', and they were starting to mean something to audiences. In the same year (1966), 'Dead End Street' was released, and it was the first music video with an actual plot. However music videos were still just being used to promote the sales of the music recordings, and were not being sold separately like they are now. This was proven when David Bowie distributed Mick Rock's music for free for promotion.
A few years later Top of the Pops started playing music, and this was in the late 1970's. To rival this whole concept, 24-hour-a-day channel called 'MTV' was launched (1981).

First Post

The task given for my A2 media studies coursework is the following:
A promotion package for the releases of an album, to include music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
a) Website homepage for the band.
b) Digipak for the album release.
c) Magazine advertisement for the Digipak.